1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of antimicrobial agents.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Certain classes of thioacrylates and thioacrylamides have been prepared as antimicrobials but no compound within those classes has achieved commercial success.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,115,103; 4,123,254; 4,169,850; and 4,198,304 to Kao Soap Co., disclose alkyl substituted beta-thioacrylamides and beta-thioacrylic adds (and salts thereof) and the corresponding alkyl sulfone and alkyl sulfoxide derivatives as germicidal herbicides, antibiotics, and as antimicrobial agents in non-food or medicinal compositions.
German patent DE 2536252 to Bayer AG discloses beta-thiocyanovinyl aryl ketones as antimicrobial agents. Thioalkyl-and thiocyano-alkyl-alpha-substituted acrylic acids (and esters thereof) are disclosed as plant growth regulators in Japanese Kokai J 50-036622 to Mitsubishi Chemical.
Methyl 3-thiocyanoacrylate and dimethyl alpha-thiocyanofumarate are known compounds (Tetrahedron, 41(4), 801 (1985)), but have not been disclosed as antimicrobial compounds. Cis-3-thiocyanoacrylic acid is a known compound (Justus Liebigs Annalen der Chemie, 8, 1249 (1977)) but has not been disclosed as an antimicrobial compound. Beta-carbomethoxyvinylisothiurium chloride is a known compound (J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 101(21), 6306 (1979)) but has not been disclosed as an antimicrobial compound. Methyl 3-thio(propan-2-on-1-yl)acrylate is a known compound (Berichte, 97(8), 2109-17 (1964)) but has not been disclosed as an antimicrobial compound. N,N-Dimethyl-3-thiocyanoacrylamide is a known compound (J. Org. Chem., 30, 2660-2665 (1965)) but has not been disclosed as an antimicrobial compound.